This is part one of my two-part series of high tech hulls…this one is a test machine, the next will use different composites. I’ve been waiting to use this template for some time now…Im a huge fan of round tails, i like the flow of the turns, it seems natural for a hull.
I softened the rails some on this board, as the last hulls have been bladed pretty well. I especially turned the rails up a little more in the last 24" of the board, this one should be more forgiving…although it is still quite a bit more blded than most liddles.
The bottom is glassed with 5.8oz plain weave carbon, top is double 6oz. official dimensions are 6’4 x 21 5/8" x 2 7/8". I polished the hotcoat instead of glosing it, I cant stand cracked glosscoats…i couldnt imagine how much this would crack if it were glossed.
The second of these two hulls will share the same template and overall foil, but Ill use different materials for the high-tech aspect
I know that by using poly resin Im not going to get the total carbon experience, but this was just a project to try it out, see if it really was that big of a pain in the ass to work with (it wasn’t)…the next carbon board I do will be epoxy/eps to really feel it.
Would you mind taking some snap shots of the tail to clearly show the thickness and flex characteristics?
I’ll try to get some in the next few days, the tail of this one is more domed than the last two hulls ive shaped, having a rounder tail and a longer un-stringered portion of the board, i wanted to let the foam stay a tad thicker in the center. flexing it by hand, it moves about 1/8", id like to make another version where the hsape goes almost negative through the tail, dishing it out, more than foiling it out…Id like to see what happens then!
If its only 1 layer of carbon it will still flex… and the rebound will be snapier than glass… depends on the thichness of the tail in combination with the carbon…
can we see more specs/pics on the board for these areas?
how are ya? i’m a little confused based on my own lack ok knowledge i think, but isn’t carbon fiber really stiff once lamintated? thus nulling the effects of a wedges stinger that stops above the fins? all i can think of are the TC Redline fins from fcs, they are stiff as aboard and thus work great in big waves. beautiful board and plan shape by the way, just curious.
thanks for the questions guys, glad people are critquing
if you feel a stringerless blank or portion of a blank, its got TONS of flex…when its shaped down before its glassed, it flops a good 2-3" up or down…PLENTY of flex to work with. I would really love to glass a fin on one of these, because i know a finbox is dulling the flex, or at least how it ‘should’ flex…but i dont have on of these myself to really dial in the fin placement…after this board ill have a good idea of where it should be on this particular template…ive got fins dialed on my personal hulls, i really dont move them anymore…but i dont know how this template in particular will act, so i went with a box.
when youre dealing with a 4" fin, thats multiple layers thick, its not going to flex…but on a board were talking about 6+ ft of ONE layer of carbon…it is stiff, as we know, but i wanted to experiment with it to get a stiffer flex…For me, bogging flex and springy flex is a massive difference, i went for springy :).
about people riding my boards…SO WOULD I!
ive tried numerous times to get photos of people on my boards, ive got underwater cameras…video and still both. theres always a hitch in the plan though…usually its flatness, other times its battery. with the lack of consistent waves up here (SB), its REALLY hard for me to sit on the beach and watch people surf when its good…im in the process of organizing a trip to the ranch with two or so of my guys for photos and video, but its been hard to get it in line. theres one pic of me on my website on my 6’8…it pains me trying to sell custom surfboards without pictures of people riding my boards, but i always feel justified when i surf with one of my guys on my boards, watching them rip apart the few waves wo do get.
I’m thinking of carbon fiber racecar monocoques that are molded and laminated as “tubs,” for the sake of the stiffness of those structures, and thinking that if you hadn’t lapped it over onto the deck, but had left the CF as a “leaf” on the bottom, you’d have kept flex in the hull–BUT, I would bet that thing works great anyway, if the rider doesn’t have pre-conceptions about hulls and flex, and can ride it, and it’ll be interesting to hear. Call it a “tub,” and watch someone rip on it.
I’m thinking of carbon fiber racecar monocoques that are molded and laminated as “tubs,” for the sake of the stiffness of those structures, and thinking that if you hadn’t lapped it over onto the deck, but had left the CF as a “leaf” on the bottom, you’d have kept flex in the hull–BUT, I would bet that thing works great anyway, if the rider doesn’t have pre-conceptions about hulls and flex, and can ride it, and it’ll be interesting to hear. Call it a “tub,” and watch someone rip on it.
greg
ive had the same thought about the laps, the next one that a lam with carbon for flex purposes will have full laps up front, and taper as they travel back…until the stringer tapers out, where it wont be lapped at all…thats where ill dish out the foam…ive got some CRAZY uni-carbon to play with also
for the sake of experimentation, i can always grind the laps off and glass it back up…or even carve the tail of this one out to REALLY compare the differences…thats the ultimate, taking the exact board and modifying it…i can see the grinder coming out in a few weeks!
edit:
holding it with one hand, and tapping it with the other, you can CLEARLY hear and feel difference in stiffness/twng in the board as you move to the tail…its very very distinct, i dont think ive muted the flex out of the board with the carbon, its got alot of twang…way more than my other flexails have had. the other have had a nice ‘warble’ tone, alot of life, but this one has less of a lasting deep tone…it feels high sprung and under constant load…im intrigued
What’s it like to do a cutlap with the carbon? I noticed the black strip going around the lap, did it get messy?
extremely…the cutting was alright, i did it a little early, but it cut fine with a sharp blade. filing it went alright, I made the mistake of basting the laps before i filed them, the black dust got caught up in the basted resin…funy how much black dust shows up on white foam!
Ryan we did a few carbon boards in the mid 70s they all SUCKED! We burned one called the nightstalker on Eastbeach as a sacrafice. Just to stiff.Also those stringers just stoping 2 ft from the tail,
those look cool but dont flex at all IMO. I have one of my old flextails, there is a pic in TSJ hull story of Tony Masaels ( liddles old glasser and great shaper) flextail that works good. Nice work your doing keep it up!
ha! thanks for the warning kirk! Once i get some waves on it under my belt ill start grinding on it to see what happens with flex as i take the laps out.
i loved the flextail in the TSJ article, but im a big guy and cant spend much on float…if i remember correctly that board was in the 8’ range? The first hull I did was supposed to be a glass flextail, my plan was to try it as a normal board, then girnd the tail out if it floated me enough…safe to say it floats me better than enough, but i cant bring myself to grind it out, its magic!
i think these days youd have to reserve a spot on east beach as a wedding…then pretend to have a pretty bonfire…with the correct permits of course…then sneak the board into the fire, and have a laugh…I cant imagine what would happen if you burned a board on the beach these days!
...i can see the grinder coming out in a few weeks!
Please don’t do it… I almost posted on the thread about hulls. I was going to say I never rode one that I liked, and rank them just above s-decks. Then… you posted this board. Man that thing is a work of art.
I’ve made hundreds of carbon fiber boards. You’re absolutely right about the “quality” of carbon’s flex. Carbon is stiffer than glass, that’s for sure… but it does flex… and it snaps back way quicker. If you’re looking for spring, you’re on the right track.
You can do anything you want with your board, but I’d like to see it stay just the way it is… maybe with a little wax on it;) My vote is that you make a batch of test boards… all the same dimensions… using different layups… at the same time… then you can test them together. It’s going to be hard to measure the differences in layup if you have to wait to grind your board and patch it up again. If you paddle out with a friend and switch boards around, you’ll get much more accurate feedback.
the next board of these two wont be so much of an experiment, its got the same template and everything, same stringer, but itll be glassed 6 bottom 6 deck with a kevlar patch.
Ive got the next carbon project lined up now though, but it wont be used for flex so much.
we’ll see how much float this one has, and how it goes, if im not happy with it the grinder will come out, or itll go up for sale…one or the other! but if its a blast…theeeeeeeen woohoo!
pm me if youre serious…id be into making more of these for people who want to try one…adjusting each one a little…maybe have the owners swap them around for a few sessions at a time…hmmmmmm now we just need more than a few people who can feel out a hull!
